By Bethany Barrett

Main menu

New Top, New Skirts, Almost New Dress!

This week has been productive! I’ve gotten a shirt finished, two skirts completed, and started on a new dress. First, let’s review the shirt: Simplicity 1779. This is a more professional shirt for sheer and lightweight fabrics. I chose to do this shirt in a sheer white Swiss dot and it turned out perfectly. This was also the first time I had done French seams and I think they turned out beautifully. I really do like this pattern, and if slightly modified it’d be a simple cute blouse for everyday wear. Sizing was a bit of an issue because like I had mentioned last week, I misread the sizing so my muslin copy turned out way too small. That being said, as a smaller shirt it could be a great vest and I’m probably going to use it for a costume vest I want to make so it worked out well that way. Here are some pictures of the completed shirt:

To show how long it is, I definitely wouldn’t wear it this way with a skirt normally.

I like it tucked in much better. Also, look at my skirt! I really do love this fabric, just adore it.

The only real issue I have with the shirt is the front button plackets. I don’t know if I just attached them wrong or have the measurements off or what but there is an awkward gap between the tie and the plackets which is at least covered by the bow. So it works out alright but if I want to modify it to have a collar but no tie then I’ll have to figure out how to fix that gap. Leaving it isn’t an option because as you’ll see there is just too much depth going on and it looks really unprofessional. I’m sure I’ll figure it out the next time, I’ll just leave it this time especially because I’m going to be wearing a shirt underneath it anyway due to the sheerness. Overall it was a simple shirt and I love how it turned out. This will certainly become a staple for me.

The back darts were interesting: they became rectangles at the bottom, they didn’t taper in the middle like I would usually expect. They were so long too!

Lightweight fabrics are a must, here you can see about 5 layers of fabric. This would’ve been too bulky and unmanageable if the fabric were thicker.

Attaching the button placket was so awkward! I think I must have gotten the seam sizing wrong or something because it did not work like the instructions made it seem to work. So I’ll have to be wary of that next time.

This is what I meant by the sizing being off…Look at that gap! This is following all of the markings though, and only sewing down the necktie as I was supposed to. So I’m sure I got something off.

The bow really helps hide the hole, thankfully. If it didn’t, my boobs would be very much on display and that is just not the aim of this shirt, quite the opposite in fact.

Minimal cleavage thankfully, I’ll also be wearing a cami underneath because of how sheer it is anyway so there really shouldn’t be any issue.

The skirts I finished were the yellow poppy pencil skirt and the cream and maroon circle skirt. Since the one just needed a hem, and the other needed a zipper and buttons I figured those were simple enough to try and do before starting anything else. Standard skills were applied, though my buttons came out a little funky on the skirt. I think it worked out ok though, especially when considering that I’ll probably just have a shirt covering the back anyway. I definitely need to consider how to fix this fit issue though so I can have it as tight as I’d like with and without a waistband. I know it can be done I’m just not sure. Look how nice it looks though! The circle skirt was easily finished and I had mentioned the length issues I had in a different post. It’s done now and I can finally wear it.

Cat tax! Look at that face. He was pouting because I wouldn’t let him eat the rose plant.

The dress I started is actually for a contest. Peppermint Magazine and The Fabric Store have teamed up to give a lucky winner a Fabric Store gift voucher. Competitors have to make a piece of clothing using one of the Peppermint magazine Sewing School patterns which are amazingly free. I’ve decided to try this out. I am first attempting the shift style dress. It’s simple, but I have this gorgeous blue tweed to use for it so I’m hoping it becomes a staple in my professional wardrobe. If the dress doesn’t work out, I want to try the new top they’ve come out with. It’s got covered buttons (or regular, whichever) in the back for a closure and just seems to be a great shape. Both patterns are a very 60’s vibe which is a new style for me to try. That’s part of the reason why I chose those patterns. I want to start getting out of my comfort zone to be able to create things that I usually wouldn’t give a second thought to but I know I would love. Hear is hoping that even if I don’t win (most likely) that at least I’ll have some new pieces to add to my growing handmade wardrobe.

This was my inspiration for the dress, I literally just googled tweed shift dress and it popped up. It looks gorgeous.

Are you working on any contests right now? Share if you can, or just share what you’re working on. Also subscribe if you’d like weekly updates in your inbox or news feed!